


Devastation

by Forthediehards



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Gen, More whump, it's pretty sad but I don't think you'll cry, pay attention to the warnings here kiddos, this was written from an anon request I got on Tumblr
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-24
Updated: 2017-10-24
Packaged: 2019-01-22 13:40:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12482908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Forthediehards/pseuds/Forthediehards
Summary: Written for an anon prompt on Tumblr: AU where Keith actually did destroy the shield and Matt has to go back to the group and explain what happened to them while trying not to break down.





	Devastation

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for clicking in! This is pretty sad but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless!

“Good work, Keith.”

Matt barely hears the praise for his comrade, the sound of his own blood pounding in his ears nearly blocks it out entirely. For just a moment, a painful moment that spans six of his worried breaths at the least, Matt’s chest fills to the brim with fiery hot hope - wondering if by some stroke of luck that Keith might respond.

The line remains dead, and everything slowly comes crashing down around him all at once.

No...Keith is...he can’t be…

“Keith, do you copy?” Shiro tries again, and it takes all of Matt’s willpower not to be sick right there on the floor of his own ship. He can feel Olia’s intense gaze on the back of his head, but he doesn’t want to turn around and let her witness the devastation and heartbreak on his face.

“Matt, I’m so sorry.” he says, and all he can do is nod gratefully at her concern. He vaguely hears Shiro make an offhand comment about the possibility of Keith switching off the coms to better his concentration, and Matt doesn’t have the heart to negate that conclusion here, of all places. 

He stares brokenly out at the debris of Haggar’s shield and Keith’s ship, briefly wondering how much pain Keith felt on the impact, and how long it took before his body shut down in it’s entirety.

He buries his face into his hands and lets out a choked noise as tears begin to spill from his eyes. For the sake of the paladins, Olia has the sense to kill their coms so no suspicion can be roused from Matt’s behavior.

After all, their mission here isn’t quite finished yet.

~~

“Good work, team! When Keith and the Blades return, we’ll have to extend our gratitude for their support in a successful mission.”

Matt’s heart is back in his throat once more, thumping out a quick, unsteady rhythm in lieu of what’s to come. He pulls his head up from his hands, eyes stinging from the tears he’s already shed hours ago when the mission was still live.

Shiro notices him first as all the paladins come strolling into the lounge, and Matt doesn’t even have the energy to return the smile his old friend directs at him. Almost immediately, Shiro frowns and halts the other paladins with a swift raise of his hand. His eyebrows furrow, regarding Matt with the utmost concern in his gaze. Matt remembers that expression all too well.

“Hey, is everything alright?” Shiro asks, in that ever-present sweet tone, the one that used to fill Matt with warmth and comfort - now filling him instead with icy dread.

He can feel all of the paladins eyes fall to him the moment he’s questioned, and he has to clench and unclench his fists to sort through his nervous energy. He refuses to cry now - not when he has to be strong for Keith’s friends, for Shiro, and for Pidge.

“Uh…” he clears his throat immediately, daring to look up and meet Shiro’s gaze. “No...no, not at all.”

This seems to catch everyone’s undivided attention, and Pidge is at his side in less than a heartbeat, lacing their fingers together and offering Matt a comforting squeeze to his hand. 

“What’s wrong, Matt? What happened?” The undertone of fear in his sister’s voice plays his heart like a cheap fiddle, and it’s enough to paralyze him for a few moments as the defenses he worked so hard to preserve come crumbling down.

He takes a shuddering breath and trails his gaze to the floor.

“It’s about Keith.” 

“What about Keith?” Shiro’s voice booms, and he closes the gap between them faster than Matt can register. Hands are on his shoulder in an instant, metal and flesh, and he gasps when Shiro gives him a gentle shake. “What about Keith?” he asks again, and Matt can see genuine fear in Shiro’s eyes.

He can’t breathe.

“He’s...he…” Matt’s voice trembles, and he can feel the coldness that settles into the room as they wait in anticipation for him to finish. To his left, Princess Allura lets out a horrified sound and covers her mouth with her hand - it’s clear she’s put the pieces together without further prompting. 

“Guys...he didn’t...he’s gone.”

Eerie silence fills the space around them. Matt can almost, for just a moment, believe that the sound of all their pounding hearts is audible. It takes a moment for the news to settle, but Pidge’s tiny hand squeezes around his own with astonishing force as her breath hitches, and he knows that is the exact moment the information registers in her head.

Hunk is the next one to react, emitting a loud sniffle that sounds deafening in the almost perfect silence. His tears come quick and messy, and Matt wishes he could switch places with Keith to spare them all this gutting pain.

It isn’t until Allura begins to audibly cry that Lance registers the situation. His bright blue eyes widen in horror, and he gasps out a “no” so weak and so pitiful that Matt wouldn’t ever believe it came from him if he hadn’t witnessed it.

Matt looks away to Shiro the moment Lance moves to comfort the Princess, and he’s surprised to see that the older man’s expression is still calm, almost unaffected by the devastating news. 

“Gone where?” he asks breathlessly, and Matt wants to vomit right there. “Did the Galra take him?”

Matt feels his chest seize, his heart threatening once more to shatter at the earnest, innocent tone to Shiro’s voice. Pidge reacts to Shiro’s question just as badly as Matt does, throwing her arms around Matt’s mid-section and burying her head into his chest to muffle her cries. He holds her as close as his can, body violently trembling with grief.

“No, Shiro. He’s...dead.”

Saying it out loud is Matt’s final straw, and all of the tears he’s worked so hard to hold back finally slip down his cheeks and fall into Pidge’s hair.

He watches through blurry eyes as understanding flashes across Shiro’s face. It’s followed closely by disbelief, and then something so heartbreakingly painful that Matt has to look away.

“No. Not him.” Shiro grits out, his hands falling from Matt’s shoulders as grief engulfs his entire being. He manages not to cry, at least that Matt can see, as he clenches his hands to fists and storms out of the room before anyone can even call out to stop him.

“I’m so sorry, you guys.” Matt chokes out, his breaths coming in short little bursts as he tries to control his emotions. “I tried to stop him, but he -”

“It’s not your fault, Matt.” and he's genuinely startled to hear Lance’s voice pipe up from the left. The young paladin has Allura in his arms, and Hunk has taken residence on his shoulder to sob loudly into the crook of his neck. Matt envies Lance’s strength in that moment, the way he can hold back his own grief and tears (they’re there - Matt can see them shining in Lance’s eyes) to stay strong for his fellow paladins. Matt can’t even stay strong for his baby sister.

“Whatever he did...it was his choice. We all know the risks associated with our jobs. It’s not your fault.” There’s something hidden within Lance’s voice, something so desperately sad that it only makes Matt feel worse - but he nods in understanding nonetheless, burying a shaky kiss into Pidge’s hair to keep himself from choking out a sob.

Matt spares one last fleeting glance around the room at the grieving paladins, and he hopes with all of his heart that wherever Keith is now, he knows just how loved and valued he was during his short years of life. 

He knows in his heart that it’ll be a cold day in hell before any of them allow Keith’s memory to be forgotten. 

He died a true hero.

**Author's Note:**

> Friendly reminder that I'm always taking prompts/requests on my Tumblr. You can find me at http://viiridians.tumblr.com ! I take only safe for work requests and you can always message me to ask what pairings I'll write.
> 
> I really hope you enjoyed this!! Thank you so much for reading!!


End file.
